As golf courses in America experiment with making their holes bigger to
broaden the game's appeal, we look at six other sports which would be more
fun after a few simple rule changes

News that golf courses in Americaare experimenting with bigger holesin order to make this famously exasperating sport easier and attract a wider audience was met with the usual harrumphing in some quarters. “Instead of bending over in satisfaction to fish the ball from its burrow, we can walk across the green and contemplate it there in its shallow, sand-filled 15-inch grave, like a mouse that has accidentally drowned in a basin,”thundered Charles McGrath in the New York Times, sounding every bit the snooty club captain with his own parking space (and no doubt the kind of short game I can only dream of).

Here at Telegraph Men, however, we think the move from the standard four-and-a-quarter-inch hole – a measurement which dates back to 1893 – to something much larger could be just what’s needed to entice us back onto the course. And while the rule book is being ripped up, why not reassess those other sports which have a habit of showing us up as the cack-handed individuals we are?

Tennis – lose the net

Roger Federer in action against Andy Murray atWimbledon

We all know the drill. It’s June and Wimbledon has started. You settle down to watch Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic bludgeon their opponents into submission and all of a sudden you get the itch. It’s not an itch experienced at any other time of the year, but you know it’s an itch that ain’t going anywhere until you’ve donned your Green Flash and found a court – probably one with tufts of grass and weeds poking through the concrete (a grass court, you tell yourself).

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And then it starts: you and your opponent hit the net – again and again and again. You’ve only bought one tube of tennis balls because they’re jolly expensive and you spend your afternoon walking to and from the baseline collecting them from the bottom of the net, just for the privilege of taking a second serve. Before long, you’re bored. Lose the net and this experience becomes infinitely more enjoyable, not to mention the fact that the drop-shot possibilities are endless.

Basketball – lower the hoop

Team USA take on France at London 2012 (Photo: Getty)

I am not aware that anyone plays basketball in this country, but that only highlights the problem. Put simply: if you’re not tall, you’re not getting in the team. That excludes an awful lot of people who might just be the next Michael Jordan or… no, he’s the only player I know. By lowering the hoop, you give everyone the chance of landing a slam dunk. “I’m terribly sorry, sir, you seem like a talented guy but you’re just too tall for basketball. Have you ever thought of netball?” The fight-back begins.

Snooker – make all the balls black

Ronnie O'Sullivan in action (Photo: Getty)

Very few of us have the foresight, not to mention the ability, to plan ahead in snooker. Such is the delight if I pot a red ball at all that the last thing on my mind is where the cue ball ends up. As a result, I am never on a colour, let alone the black, which is worth the most points. Normally, however, by sheer force of probability, something (usually another entirely useless red) is on. Make all the balls black and the 147-break will start to look like abject failure.

Water Polo – play it in the shallow end

Hungary take on Montenegro in 2012 (Photo: AP)

Not being able to swim should never prevent someone from enjoying a game of water polo. Swimming for a sustained period of time is tough enough; swimming for a sustained period of time whilst attempting to throw, catch, shoot and intercept as well is unthinkable. By making the water shallow, those who need a breather can stand around for a bit, and those who don’t can continue their merry eggbeating (it’s a method of treading water used by water polo players). I, for one, shall be standing, though I’d still like to wear one of those hats.

Croquet – make the balls smaller

Croquet isn't easy, but it’s nigh on impossible after a gin and tonic or three. Either we must make the balls smaller or the hoops wider. The problem with the second option is that, if the hoops get too big, they will look simply ghastly – no good for a garden party at all. Make the balls slightly smaller and never again will we have to endure that awkward moment when the ball gets stuck slam bang in the middle of a hoop. While we’re on croquet, we should also drop this idea of having a set course of hoops to follow. That way, when you over-hit it terribly, you can crack on rather than suffering the ignominy of going backwards. Tally ho!

Darts – cluster the big numbers together

Nothing is more frustrating than almost throwing a perfect treble-20, only for one or all of your "arrows" to land millimetres to the right in the segment of the board entitled "1". This is often followed by your drunk mate going for bullseye (he thinks it’s the highest score on the board) and fluking a treble-19. Sport should reward talent. Put all the big numbers together and then we’ll see who’s lucky.